Sewing-machine.



J. KIEWICZ.

SEWING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FLLED MAY 26, 1916. Patented July 31 3 SHEETSSHEET 1.

lnven'for. dohn Kiewic J. KIEWICZ.

SEWING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 26, I916.-

Patentod July 31, 1917.

3 SHEETS--SHEET 2.

V1 t m Pm u mww m WK M h J. KlEWICZ.

SEWING MACHINE.

APPLICATION men MAY 26, 1916.

1 234,773. Patented July 31, 191%.

3 SHEETS SHEET 3.

Fig.3.

\\\\\II III/////" lnvenl'or. John Ki ewicg Attys.

' UNITED STATES PATENT oEEIoE. 4

JOHN KIEWICZ, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO THE REEGE BUTTONHOLE MACHINE COMPANY, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS. A'GORPORATION OF MAINE.

SEWING-MAGI-IIN E.

Specification of Letters Patent. V t t July 31, 19 7,

Application filed May 26, 1916. Serial No. 100,124.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN KIEWICZ, a citizen of the United States,residing at Boston, county of Suffolk, State of Massachusetts, haveinvented an Improvement in Sewing-Machines, of which the following 7description, in connection with the accompanying drawing, is aspecification, like characters on the drawing representing like parts.

This invention relates to sewing machines and particularly to sewingmachines of that type in which the feed mechanism includes a rotatablefeed-controlling member or feed cam, and the object of the invention isto provide an improved means for actuating the feed-controlling memberby which the latter is given a varying speed in timed relation with theoperation of the stitch-forming mechanism. As illustrative of sewingmachines of the above type, I would refer to so-called buttonhole sewingmachines that are adapted to form the edge stitches on a buttonhole.These sewing machines are commonly provided with stitch-formingmechanism and work-holding means and with a rotatable feed cam orfeed-controlling element by which the stitch-forming mechanism andwork-holding means are given a relative feeding movement first in onedirection and then in the other thereby to effect the formation of theedge stitchesdown one side of and then back on the other side of thebuttonhole. In some buttonhole sewing machines, this relative feedingmovement is secured by moving the stitch-forming mechanism relative tothe work-holding means and in other buttonhole sewing machines suchrelative movement is secured by feed-controlling member or feed cam isgiven an intermittent movement during the stitching operation therebygiving the desired intermittent feed to the work so that when theneedles are in the work, the latter will beat rest or substantially atrest, while the feeding movement of the work will occur when the needlesare withdrawn from the work, and this intermittent movement is securedby means of a pawl-and-ratchet mechanism actuated from the driving shaftof the stitch-forming mechanism. One disadvantage inherent in the use ofa pawland-ratchet mechanism forgiving this intermittent movement is thatwhen the device is operated at very high speed, the inertia of the partsmay cause the ratcheted member to overrun, and if this takes place, theintermittent movements of the ratcheted member will not be absolutelyuniform.

I have provided herein an improved mechanism for actuating the feed camwhich is positive in its operation even at excessively high speeds, butwhich gives to the feed cam the desired intermittent or varying mo tion.I accomplish this end by positively connecting the feed-controllingmember to the driving shaft for the stitch-forming mechanism by meansvofgearing and by providing means actuated from the driving shaft formodifying the action of the gearing so that the feed-controlling memberwill have the desired varying speed in timed relation with the operationof the stitch-forming mechanism. 1 V

In order to illustrate the invention I have shown it as it might be"applied to buttonhole sewing machines of the type illustrated in theabove-mentioned patents, but I wish to state that the invention is notlimited in its use to buttonhole sewing machines of this particulartype, but is capable of use more generally in sewing machines involvinga rotary feed-controlling element.

In the drawings, Figure l is a side view partly in section of abuttonhole sewing ma chine having my improvements applied thereto;-

Fig. 2 is a bottom plan view of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a detail of one end of the driving shaft showing part of thegearing for driv, ing the feed-controlling member;

Fig. 4 is a detail view of the worm gear which meshes with and drivesthe feed-eontrolling member; 7

Fig. 5 is a section on the line 5-5, Fig. 1.

1 indicates generally the frame of a buttonhole sewing machine in whichthe stitchforming mechanism is operatively mounted. The stitch-formingmechanism herein shown comprises the upper thread-handling mecha nism inthe form of an eye-pointed needle 2' which is carried by a reciprocatingneedle bar 3 and a lower thread-handling mechanism of the typeillustrated in the abovementioned patents and which is indicatedgenerally by 4. This stitch-forming mechanism is operated from a drivingshaft 5 which is journaled in'the frame 1.

The workeholding means by which the work is held is herein illustratedas a clamp plate 6 on which the work is supported and movablework-clamping members 7 pivotally mounted on the clamp plate and adaptedto clamp the work against the clamp plate 6. During the stitchingoperation the workholding means and stitch-forming mechanism are movedrelative to each other, and in the construction herein shown thisrelative movement is secured by movement of the work-holding means onthe frame 1. This feeding movement is derived from a rotaryfeed-controlling element or feed cam 8 which is rotatably mounted on theframe 1 below the work-holding means and which has a cam groove thereinin which is received a projection 9 depending from a slide 10 which isconnected to the work clamp 6 so that movement of the slide 10 towardthe right and the left, Fig. 1, will give corresponding movement to thework-holding means. The feed cam 8 is constructed to give the slide 10this reciprocating movement. The mechanism for thus giving feedingmovement to the work-holding means may be similar to that shown in theKiewicz Patent No. 1,030,589,'June 25, 1912, above referred to, andhence does not need any further description herein.

I have above'referred briefly to a sufficient number of essentialelements of a buttonhole sewing machine to enable my invention to beunderstood, but have not entered into a detailed description of all theelements of a sewing machine, nor the operation thereof, as these willbe readily apprehended by those skilled in the art and by reference tothe above-mentioned patents.

The feed cam or feed-controlling element 8 is provided on its peripherywith worm gear teeth that mesh with a worm 11 on a shaft 12. During thestitching operation, this shaft 12 is driven from the driving shaft 5,and means are provided for modifying the action of the worm 11 in givingrotative movement to the feed cam 8 so that the feed cam has anintermittent or substantially-intermittent movement. In accordance withmy present invention thls is accomplished by reciprocating the worm 11axially of the shaft 12, as said worm is ro tating. The movement of theworm 11 longitudinally of the shaft 12 in one direction during therotation of the shaft will act to speed up or augment the action of theworm in giving rotative movement to the feed cam 8, while movement ofthe worm in the opposite direction on the shaft 12 will retard ornullify the effect of the worm 11 on the feed cam 8. Means are providedfor thus vibrating the worm 11 in timed relation with the operation ofthe shaft 5, the movement of the worm in a direction to augment therotative' movement. of the feed cam 7 taking place when the needle iswithdrawn from the work, and the movement of the worm in the oppositedirectionby which the rotative movement of the feed cam 8 is nullifiedor retarded taking place when the needle is in the work. The worm 11 issplined to the shaft 12, this being accomplished by providing said wormwith a slotted hub 13 and by providing the shaft 12 with roller proshaft5. The worm 11 is thus driven positively from the shaft 5 by means ofgearing. The reciprocating movement of the worm 11 is secured bymechanism separate from the above-named gearing but actuated from theshaft 5. The gear 11 is provided with a grooved hub 21 in the groove ofwhich is received projections 22 on the forked end 23 of a lever 24pivoted at 25 to a suitable bearing 26. This elbow-lever 25 has a link56 pivotally connected thereto, said link extending up through the bedof the machine and having at its upper end an eccentric strap 27 whichencircles an eccentric 28 fast on the shaft 5. By this means the gear 11will be given a complete to-andfro reciprocation at each rotation of theshaft 5. Each rotation of the shaft 5 also gives the needle 2 a completeto-and-fro reciprocation and the gear 11 is thus reciprocated in, thestitch-forming timed relation with mechanism. The eccentric 27 is sopositioned that the movement of the gear 11 in a direction to speed upthe feed cam 8 occurs while the needle 2 is withdrawn from the work, asshown in Fig. 1, and the movement of the worm 11 me direction to re-jtard or nullify the rotative movement of l the feed cam 8 occurs whenthe needle is in the work. I will preferably so arrange the parts thatthe latter movement of the worm 11 Will completely nullify the rotativemovement of the feed cam due to the rotation of the worm 11 so that thefeed cam will have an intermittent movement, but the extent to which themovement of the feed cam is varied depends upon the extent ofreciprocating movement of the worm 11, and this can be varied to suitthe requirements of use. It will thus be seen that the driving means forthe feed cam 8 is a positive one and that the variations in the speed ofthe feed cam due to the reciprocation of the worm 11 are uniform. Theresult will be absolute uniformity in the spacing of the stitches evenwhen the machine is running at an extremely high speed.

In buttonhole sewing machines of the type illustrated herein and in theabove-mentioned patents, the shaft 5 and the stitchforming mechanism areautomatically brought to rest when the stitching on a buttonhole hasbeen completed, and after the stitch-forming mechanism has thus beenbrought to rest, the feed cam 8 continues its movement to carry the workfrom stitching position to buttonhole-cutting position. The entiremechanism is brought to rest when the work is in buttonhole-cuttingposition. When the sewing machine is started again, the buttonhole isfirst cut and then the feed cam operates to carry the work frombuttonhole-cutting to buttonhole-stitchingposition, at which time theshaft 5 is automatically set in operation and the stitch-formingmechanism is actuated to concatenate the edge stitches on thebuttonhole. The movement of the feed cam which carries the work fromstitching to buttonhole-cutting position and vice versa is derived fromthe driving mechanism acting directly on the shaft 12. The movement ofthe feed cam 8 by which feeding movement is given to the work during thestitching operation is, however, derived from the shaft 5, as abovedescribed,-said shaft being driven from a driving pulley 29 which isclutched to orunclutched from the shaft by mechanism such as illustratedin said patents and which it is not necessary to describe herein. Inorder to provide for thus operating the worm 11 when'the shaft 5 is atrest for the purpose of carrying the work from stitching tobuttonhole-cutting position or vice versa, I

have shown the bevel mounted on the shaft with a spring-pressed pawl 30coiiperating with the ratchet wheel 31 fast on the shaft 12. Thispawl-and-ratchet is so constructed that the rotation of the gear 15derived from the'shaft 5 will be communicated to gear 15 as loosely 12and as provided the shaft 12 through the PaWLaild-IQ t h mentionedpatents and including a clutchoperating arm 33. This arm carries aprojection 34 which engages a disk 35 loosely mounted on the shaft 12,the position of which is controlled by a lever36. When the lever 36 isin the position shown in Fig. 2, the clutch for the pulley 32 isreleased so that said pulley will rotate freely. When the lever 36 ismoved toward the pulley 32 the latter will be clutched to the shaft 12and will positively drive said shaft. movement of the lever 36 iscontrolled by the stop motion for the shaft 5 so that when the shaft 5is brought to rest, the lever 36 will be operated to clutch the pulley32 to the shaft 12, all as set forth in the abovementioned patents.

en the sewing machine is started in operation, the pulley 32 is clutchedto the shaft 12 and the feed cam 8 will be operated directly from thedriving pulley 32 until the work is brought from buttonholecutting intobuttonhole-stitching position. At this time the pulley 32 is unclutchedfrom the shaft 12 and the driving pulley 29 is clutched to the shaft 5thereby setting the stitch-forming mechanism in operation. As soon asthe shaft 5 is thus operated, the feed cam will be rotated from theshaft 5, as above set forth. I have illustrated herein means operatedfrom the feed ,cam 8 for.

thus unclutching the driving pulley 32 from the shaft 12 when the partsare brought into stitching position. This is herein accomplished by acam projection 71 on the feed cam 8 which is adapted toengage a roll 72on a lever 38 pivoted at 73 to the frame. This lever has pivoted theretoone end of a link 37, the other end of which is pivoted to the lever 36.The cam projection 71 is so located on the feed cam as to act on theroll 72 just when the work is brought into stitching position and at thetime that the shaft 5 is set in operation. I have also here in shownmeans acting on the link 37 for locking the clutch for the pulley 32disengaged during the stitching operation. This means is in the form ofa finger 39 carried by the link and adapted to engage a'locking latch40, as shownin Fig. 2. This latch 40is pivotally mounted to a bracket 41on the underside of the bed, and one end there'- of is acted on by acoiled spring 42 which tends normally to hold it in its operativeposition. The Stop motion for the shaft 5,

This

which is not herein shown as it forms no part of the present invention,includes a rock-shaft 43 having an arm 44: to which is connected apush-pin 45. When the stop motion for the shaft 5 is set in operation tostop the shaft and thus stop the stitch-forming mechanism at the end ofa stitching operation on a buttonhole, the push-pin 45 is forceddownwardly against the latch 40 and the latter is thus disengaged fromthe nose 39 thereby unlocking the lever 36 and permitting said lever toclutch the pulley 32 to the shaft 12. The shaft is then positivelydriven from the pulley 32 thereby to move the feed cam 8 sufliciently tocarry the work from stitching to buttonhole-cutting position, afterwhich the entire mechanism is brought to rest. During the time that thefeed cam is driven directly from the pulley 32, the gear 15 isstationary, but the 1 pawl-andratchet 31 will permit rotation of theshaft 1:2. Since the mechanism for vibrating the worm 11 is actuatedfrom the shaft 5, it will be obvious that said mechanism is inoperativewhen the shaft 5 is at rest and, therefore, during the time that theshaft 12 is rotated directly from the pulley 32, the movement which isgiven to the feed cam 8 will be a uniform motion instead ofia varyingone.

The bevel gear 16 is splined to the shaft 17 and is held in positionthereon and in mesh with the gear 15 by a roll 60 which engages the backside of the gear 16 and is carried by a rod 57 which in turn is mountedin bearings 58, 59. This rod 57 is provided with a roller projection 61engaging the back side of the gear 15. These roller projections 60 and61 hold the bevel gears 15 and 16 properly in mesh with each other. Therod 57 is held in its adjusted position by a clamping screw 63 whichscrews into the rod and operates in the slot 6a in the bearing 59;

This construction has the advantage that it permits the gears 15, 16 tobe readily changed, thus providing for changing the length or spacing ofthe stitches.

"While I have herein illustrated a selected embodiment of my invention,I do not wish to be limited to the constructional features shown.

I claim:

1. In a sewing machine, the combination with stitch-forming mechanism,of a driving shaft by which said mechanism is'operated, work-holdingmeans, a feed cam for giving a relative feeding movement between thestitch-forming mechanism and work-holding means, gearing connecting saidfeed cam to said driving shaft, said gearing including a worm gear and aworm meshing therewith, and means to reciprocate the worm in thedirection of its axis in timed relation with the operation of thestitch-forming mechae nism whereby the feedcam is given a varying andmeans operated by the driving shaft to reciprocate the worm in thedirection of its axis in timed relation with the operation of thestitch-forming mechanism whereby the feed cam is givena varyingmovement,

3. In a sewing machine, the combination with stitch-forming mechanism,of a driving shaft by which said mechanism is operated,

work-holding means, a feed cam for giving feeding movement to thework-holding means during the operation of the stitch-forming mechanism,gearing connecting said feed cam to said driving shaft, said gearingincluding a worm gear and a worm meshing therewith, and means toreciprocate the worm in the direction of its axis in timed relation vforming mechanism.

with the operation of the stitche 4. In a sewing machine, thecombination with stitch-forming mechanism, of a driving shaft by whichsaid mechanism is operated, work-holding means, a feed cam for givingfeeding movement to the work-holding means during the operation of thestitch-forming mechanism, gearing connecting said feed cam to saiddriving shaft, saidgearing including a worm gear and a worm meshingtherewith, and means operated by the driving shaft to reciprocate theworm in the di' rection of its axis in timed relation with the operationof the stitch-forming mechanism.

5. In a sewing machine, the combination with stitch-forming mechanism,of a'driving shaft by which said mechanism is operated,

work-holding means, a feed cam for moving the stitch-forming mechanismand workholding means relative to each other, gearing by which said feedcam derives movement from said driving shaft, and means separate fromthe gearing and operated from the driving shaft to augment and retardthe action of the gearing in giving movement to the feed cam in timedrelation with the stitch-forming movements of the stitch formingmechanism. V

6. In a sewing machine, the combination with stitch-forming mechanism,of a driving shaft by which said mechanism is operated,

work-holding means, a feed cam for moving the stitch-forming mechanismand work holding means relative to each other, gearing connecting saidfeed cam to said driving shaft, and means separate from the gearing andoperated from the driving shaft to nullify and augment the action ofsaid gearing in giving movement to the feed cam in timed relation withthe stitch-forming movements of the stitch-forming mechanism.

7. In a sewingmachine, the combination with stitch-forming mechanism, ofa driving shaft by which said mechanism is operated, work-holding means,a feed cam for giving said work-holding means a feeding movement,gearing connecting said driving shaft and feed cam, and means separatefrom said gearing and operated from the driving shaft to augment andretard the action of said gearing in giving movement to the feed cam intimed relation with the stitch-forming movements of the stitch-formingmechanism.

8. In a sewing machine, the combination with stitch-forming mechanismincluding a needle, of a driving shaft by which said mechanism isoperated, work-holding means, a feed cam for moving the stitch-formingmechanism and work-holding means relative to each other, gearingoperated from the driving shaft and by which the feed cam is actuated,and means separate from the gearing and operated from the driving shaftto augment the action of the gearing when the needle is withdrawn fromthe work and to retard the action of the gearing when the needle is inthe work.

9. In a sewing machine, the combination with stitch-forming mechanismincluding a reciprocating needle, of a driving shaft by which saidmechanism is operated, workholding means, a feed cam for giving arelative feeding movement between the stitchforming mechanism andwork-holding means, gearing connecting said feed cam to said drivingshaft, said gearing including a worm gear and a worm meshing therewith,

and means to reciprocate the worm gear in the direction of its axis intimed relation with the reciprocating movements of the needle.

10. In a sewing machine, the combination with stitch-forming mechanismincluding a reciprocating needle, of a driving shaft by which saidmechanism is operated, workholding' means, a feed cam for giving arelative feeding movement between the stitchforming mechanism andwork-holding means, gearing connecting said feed cam to said drivingshaft, said gearing including a worm gear and a worm meshing therewith,and means to move the worm axially in a direction to augment itsrotative effect upon the worm gear when the needle is withdrawn from thework and to move said worm in the opposite direction when the needle isin the work.

11. In a sewing machine, the combination with stitch-forming mechanism,of a driving shaft by which said mechanism is operated, work-holdingmeans, a feed cam for giving a relative feeding movement between thestitchforming mechanism and work-holding means, operative driving connections between said shaft and feed cam including a wormgear anda wormmeshing therewith, and means to reciprocate the worm in the direction ofits axis in timed re lation with the operation of the stitch-formingmechanism. 12. In a sewing machine, the combinatio with stitch-formingmechanism, of workholding means, a feed cam for moving thestitch-forming mechanism and work-holding means relative to each other,means for driving the feed cam including a worm gear and a worm meshingtherewith, and means to reciprocate the worm iii-the direction of itsaxis in timed relation with the operation of the stitch-formingmechanism.

13. In a sewing machine, the combination with stitch-forming mechanism,of workholding means, a feed cam for moving the stitch forming mechanismand work holding means relative to each other, gearing for operatingsaid cam, means for actuating the gearing and means to augment andretard the action of the gearing in giving movement to the feed cam intimed relation with the stitch-forming movements of the stitchformingmechanism.

14. In a sewing machine, the combination with stitch-forming mechanism,of workholding means, a feed cam for producing relative movement betweensaid stitch-forming mechanism and work-holding means, means including aworm gear and worm meshing therewith for operating said feed cam, andmeans to reciprocate the worm in the direction of its axis in timedrelation with the operation of the stitchforming mechanism.

15. In a sewing machine, the combination with stitch -forming mechanism,of workholding means, and means for moving said stitch-forming mechanismand work-holding means relative to each other, said means including aworm gear, a worm meshing therewith, and means to reciprocate the wormin the direction of its axis of rotation in timed relation with theoperation of the stitchforming mechanism.

16, In a sewing machine, the combination with stitch-forming mechanism,of workholding means, a driving shaft, gearing actuated by said drivingshaft for producing a relative movement between the stitch-formingmechanism and work-holding means, and means separate from said gearingto augment and retard in timed relation with the stitch-formingmovements of the stitchforming mechanism the action of said gearing inproducing such relative movement.

1=7. a sewing 'm'a'ohine, the combination With 'stitchforming mechanism,of

holding means, a driving shaft, means actuated thereby for moving theWork-hold- 5 ing means and stitch-forming mechanism relative to "eachother, and devices separate from said means for augmenting and recdpisbfthis lialteiit'fiia'y "be obtained for tardi-ng in timed relation withthe stitchforming movements of the stitch-forming mechanism the actionof such means in pro- 10 ducing such relative movement.

In testimony whereof, I have'signed my name to this specification.

' JOHN KIEWIOZ.

Workfiv'e dents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,Washington, D. 0.

